Alba Berlin started the new Bundesliga season with a win. The German champions defeated the Hamburger Towers 81:78 (26:25, 19:20, 20:18, 16:15) in their home arena on Wednesday (09/28/2022).
In the opening game of the BBL, which was brought forward from the 2nd matchday, Berlin got off to a better start without Maodo Lo and Johannes Thiemann, who were third in the European Championships, and took the lead 12:6. But the guests with newcomer and EM bronze medalist Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann stayed tuned.
Towards the end of the first quarter, Hamburg was ahead for the first time with a successful three by Ziga Samar with 25:24. In the second round, both teams mainly missed their distance shots. The game remained balanced until 45:45 at the break.
Sikma firecracker the preliminary decision
In an intense third quarter, Berlin turned a deficit with three-point shots by Jonas Mattisseck and Tim Schneider in the final phase and went into the final section with a narrow 65:63 lead. In the last ten minutes, neither team was able to break away decisively.
In the end, the master had the larger reserves. A dunking by Luke Sikma, Alba’s top scorer with 16 points, brought the hosts up three points in the final minute. Kendale McCallum shortened for Hamburg with two converted free throws again to one point. The Berliners had the last word, however, and thanks to two successful free throws by Tamir Blatt, they sealed the 81:78 win.
The first full game day of the BBL starts on Friday (September 30th, 2022) with the game between Bayreuth and Frankfurt. Berlin is back in action on Sunday. Then it goes to Bamberg. Hamburg already has the Mitteldeutsche BC as a guest at their home debut on Saturday.